The American Medical Association is urging telemedicine training to be part of medical school curricula, an announcement it made days after releasing new telemedicine guidance on physician responsibilities.

Telemedicine training should be incorporated at both the undergraduate and graduate levels as a core competency, according to the association's new policy.

“As innovation in care delivery and technology continue to transform healthcare, we must ensure that our current and future physicians have the tools and resources they need to provide the best possible care for their patients," Robert M. Wah, M.D., AMA immediate past president, says in an announcement. "In particular, exposure to and evidence-based instruction in telemedicine's capabilities and limitations at all levels of physician education will be essential to harnessing its potential"

One of the AMA’s initiatives has been “reimagining” medical education for the future. Thirty-two medical schools across the country are part of its Accelerating Change in Medical Education Consortium.

Indiana University School of Medicine, for example, developed training with de-identified data on the use of electronic health records. And the University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences is training students using advanced simulation and telemedicine to treat patients in remote areas.

In the past, the AMA has backed policies to ease concerns about it meeting the same standards of care as in-person consultations. The American Telemedicine Association, however, has argued that it’s been unnecessarily held to higher standards.

Source: American Medical Association
Image Credit: AMA

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